The Crusaders
by Red Outburst
Summary: [ Chapter Five Uploaded ] The gang has made it to the Temple of Light, but the Darkside Corporation has other plans in mind. The first Crusader is born! Frontierish.
1. 00 Prelude

First Digimon Fic. Just a prologue but…maybe you'll like it =D

Disclaimer: Digimon own not I. Digimon is owned by Toei. Kapeesh? I do own all characters and Digimon in this fic though! Stealing them without my permission ( …XD Stealing without permission…XD ) will be punishable by the law. Me. That's right me. So ha.  
  
  
Digital Crusaders Episode 00 ~ Prelude  
  
_I thought it was just a dream…  
  
…just a dream…  
  
Something I could wake up from…  
  
…wake up from…  
  
But now I know….  
  
…I know…  
  
…that I can't…  
  
That is why! I must go on with my plan! This world [b][/sucks!b] But I…can make it…better. I can get rid of all those corrupted souls! The world would be free of evil forever! Its genius, I say, GENIUS!!! AND I WILL REIGN SUPREME AS THEIR LEADER. The one who brought them this euthopia. Oh yes…they will worship me…  
  
…or they will die.  
  
Oh yes.  
  
Those who oppose me…  
  
Those who question me…  
  
Those who defy me…  
  
Those who despise me…  
  
Shall die.  
  
_  
And the bearer of these thoughts lips turned into a sadistic smile and laughed the laugh of a maniac…  
  
End Episode 00.  
  
  
  
…well? How'd ya like? Interest you enough, I hope? R&R!


	2. 01 Beyond the Blue Yonder

Chapter One is here and ready, folks ^__^. And keep the reviews comin'!!!

Disclaimer: Look…if I owned Digimon…I would have never allowed Fox to dub 02. *gags at all Takari fans* So. Yeah. I would have made it Daikari. Go underdogs.

…um…why are all the Takari fans…death glaring me…?

Digimon Crusaders Episode 01 ~ Beyond the Blue Yonder…

"…" ~ Talking

_Italicized_ ~ Dream or thinking

***** ~ change of scenes

~~~~~ ~ Change of realities

_In a world of clouds, fog, and mist, a lone figure stood amidst it all._

_"Wh-Where am I?" called out a voice._

_The voice's owner shook his head frantically, trying to find out where he was. "He-Hello? Anyone there?" No answer. Panicking, the voice's owner, a boy, sprinted forward. But, it was no use. No matter what he did he never got any closer to an exit._

_"Can someone tell me where the hell I am?!" shouted the boy. Losing hope, he dropped to his knees and began crying._

_"Takeshi…!" called out a voice amidst the fog, obviously somewhere beyond the boy, or Takeshi._

_"Huh?" said a surprised Takeshi._

_. "Takeshi…!"_

_"…who…who are you?"_

A boy around the age of 15 groaned as he rose from his bed. He had short golden brown hair, messy and uncombed, obviously in need of a comb and some hair gel. Despite that, his hair was shiny and clean. As his eyes slowly adjusted to the light, the sunlight danced off his chocolate brown eyes. He yawned and stretched, then hopped out of bed.

_What a strange dream… _he thought to himself. He looked at himself in the mirror; he was shirtless but had a pair of crimson sweatpants on. _But then again…_ he looked to the window. _I have had weirder ones but, this one felt so…real. _He shook his head. _Nonsense Takeshi, all dreams feel real. _ He shook the odd feeling off, but yet it seemed as though the memory of the dream would stay intact.

Later, the boy, or Takeshi, had stepped outside of his bedroom, dressed in his school uniform: a white polo shirt, khaki pants, and a navy blue jacket -  which was optional. He gazed around the apartment before heading over to the counter.

"Ohayo, 'kaasan." Takeshi's mother turned from the sink and smiled. Like her son, she had golden brown hair, but had blue eyes instead of Takeshi's brown. Her smile was warm, and could easily fill someone with energy just by being around her. "Ohayo, Takeshi." 

Another person entered the room, this time a man. Unlike Takeshi or his mother, he had mahogany colored hair with faint streaks of pale red in it. His eyes were chocolate brown, like Takeshi. He was tall in stature, which made many intimidated by him. The man smiled. Like his wife, he also gave off a smile of warmth, invigorating the ones who saw his smile.

Takeshi grinned. "Ohayo, 'tousan." The older man nodded his response and took a seat at the table. "Good morning indeed," he said brightly, "Haruka, may I have some breakfast?"

Haruka nodded and brought over the two plates: One for Takeshi, and the other for her husband. "There you go boys. Enjoy." A chorus of 'arigatous' were heard from the men as they began to eat their meal. Haruka smiled and went back to the sink.

"So, Takeshi. Are you ready for school?" The boy in question sighed, dropping his fork on the counter and then putting his head in-between his arms. "Am I _ever_ ready for school?" he asked.

His father chuckled, and turned to his son. "Ah, cheer up Takeshi. Who knows, maybe Sakura will help you out this time." Obviously, the father knew what response was coming and smirked as his son threw his arms up in the air.

"Sakura?! Help _me_?! Are you out of your mind? She's an older sister, and like all older siblings, her life was made to torment me!" 

"I heard that, onii-chan." Takeshi froze and gulped. Even at his age, one can never stop being frightened of an older sibling, especially a female one. Slowly, he turned around in his seat and smiled nervously. "O-Ohayo Sakura…"

Sakura smirked at him, as she took her seat at the counter. Like her father and Takeshi, she too had chocolate brown eyes. Her hair was a beautiful golden brown that was very shiny and well groomed that fell down to her shoulders. She was dressed in a uniform similar to Takeshi's; they had the same white polo shirt with school emblem over the heart, but she had a navy blue skirt with a navy blue sweater tied around her waist. She too was around the age of 15. 

 Sakura grinned. "Its so adorable to see you after one of your rude comments about me, 'niichan. But I'll let it slide this time. 'Kaasan? Can I have some breakfast please?" Her mother nodded and handed her a plate. "Arigatou." Sakura immediately began to eat her breakfast.

Haruka smiled and turned to her children. "As much as I love these moments when were all together…you may want to look at the time." She pointed to the clock and both her children turned to it. It read 7:44 AM. School would start in less than 20 minutes.

Both children sprung up immediately and grabbed their backpacks. "Bye!" chorused the twins as they put on their shoes and raced out the door. Yuuchirou, their father, chuckled. "Same thing everyday."

* * * * *

Running as fast as their legs could take them, the twins sprinted off towards the school, Sakura ahead of her younger twin. As usual, Takeshi sprinted faster up to his sister and the two exchanged a grin. The race was on.

* * * * * 

"And as usual, the oldest triumphs over the youngest." Said the confident Sakura. Takeshi groaned and shook his head. Her victories over him in the past week were getting old. And fast. He sighed.

"Hey, Sakura! Come on, let's get inside!" Separating his sister from her moment of victory, he dashed into the school building and ran up to his classroom. Fortunately, Hajime-sensei hadn't arrived yet and Takeshi immediately took his seat. Sakura arrived after him.

The younger twin smirked and whispered to his older twin. "Looks like I won that race." He said. Sakura scoffed. "We didn't even declare it a race. So it doesn't count."

"Spoil sport."

"Loser."

"Spoil sport!"

"Loser!"

"That's _enough_ Miss Shinku! Same for you Mr. Shinku!" called their teacher. The twins froze. Takeshi sighed mentally. _And it was looking forward to such a great day…_

* * * * *

"Once again, this is all _your_ fault Takeshi." Groaned Sakura. As punishment for "disrupting the class", they had to stay after school and clean desks. Takeshi sighed. There was truly no reasoning with Sakura when she was this angry.

"Oh come on, Sakura! What could you have possibly missed today!?"

"Well," said Sakura as she turned to her sibling, "I was looking forward to going into town with my friends, but _you_ just _had_ to say we were racing, and look where that got us!" His sibling sighed. "Look, were running low on water. I'll go refill the bucket."

"Sure. Whatever." Takeshi never even looked up at his sister. 

"…fine. Be that way." Sakura stormed off with the bucket in her hand.

Takeshi lifted his head up towards the door. A smile spread across his lips. _Finally! I thought she'd _never _leave!_ He put his sponge and bottle of Windex down and basked in the sunlight that flowed into the room.

_Light…its so…pure. Yeah. Pure describes light very well. _He turned his attention to the sky, watching the clouds float by in the gentle breeze. _Its times like these when man wonders what's out there…I mean, surely we can't be the only race of beings in this existence, we just can't be! …Right?_

As if answering Takeshi's thoughts, a loud beeping sound spread into his hearing. He frowned. _Is that a…cell phone?_ Curious, he walked over to where the sound was coming from, ever keeping a vigilant check on the noise. It was coming from his backpack. Now he felt slightly panicked. _Okay, now _this_ is freaky. I don't even _own _a cell phone. _Takeshi unzipped his backpack, and searched around for well, whatever was making the noise. And then, he found it.

It was shaped like a palm pilot, to put it roughly. It was colored an aqua blue for the most part, but under the fairly large screen was a gold "keyboard" that contained one large dial, and three buttons: one to the dial's right, to the dial's left, and below the dial. Just like a palm pilot, the screen was fairly large and the backround was a bluish-white, with pixel-like cubes in the corners, and a menu or so to speak dead-center of the screen.

Takeshi stared in awe of the device. He kept telling himself that the device didn't belong to him…but yet, it felt like he had known it was his device for years. A smile slowly spread itself across his face. "Wow…" was all Takeshi could manage to say in his moment of awe.

His moment was, unfortunately, disturbed by a beeping noise coming from the device. Confused, Takeshi blinked and tried to stop the beeping by pushing one of the buttons. Instead, the words "New Message." Appeared on the screen. 

" 'New Message'?" said a confused Takeshi. A window appeared on the screen with a message inscribed onto it. Still driven by this feeling of attachment to the device, Takeshi's eyes scanned the message.

"Konnichiwa, Takeshi Shinku. As you are reading this message, I want you to realize that you have accepted your destiny; you cannot escape from it. But don't be afraid, Takeshi. For you chose your own path, much like everyone else does in this world. Now, the question is: Will you accept your fate?

**YES?/ NO?**

****

_My…destiny…? Hold on a sec, Takeshi. You don't even know what's going to happen to you? I mean, what if this person's a…a stalker, or a murderer or something! _Again, as if reading his mind, a voice in the back of his mind said, "Do not be afraid, Takeshi."

_…Okay that was weird,_ thought Takeshi, _but…I feel like this is the right think to do._

In a moment of confidence, Takeshi punched down on the right-sided button ( which he had realized meant to accept anything the device portrayed, as the left-sided button selected 'no' or cancelled an option ) and the message faded away, only to be replaced with a new one.

"Congratulations, Takeshi. You've chosen the path that will surely lead you to a great destiny. As soon as you are released from your clean-up duties, I would like you to head towards the old park at 16:59. Please, remain seated on the bench until the time reaches 17:00. Everything else…will be revealed later.

P.S.- You might want to change out of your school uniform first.

P.S.S. – If you are any later than 16:59 with 1 second less to spare, consider your destiny lost.

This new message had definitely sparked Takeshi's interest. For one thing, how did she know his school had a uniform? Or that he was on clean up duty? Did someone slip this into his backpack earlier? Was this some kind of sick joke?

No, he thought, it couldn't be a trick. It seems…too truthful and real to be a joke.

He glanced over to the clock. It read 15:27, which meant he and Sakura would be out of cleaning duty in less than 3 minutes. That gives me over an hour to get to the park. Just the time I need!

"Hey, baka! What are you doing at your backpack?" called out his sister.

Takeshi stood up from his backpack ( but not before slipping the device back into its compartment ) and turned to Sakura, who was standing in the doorway.

"Um…just…packing up…"

Sakura gave him an odd look. "But you did that thirty minutes ago."

"Well…I was checking to make sure I had everything!"

Sakura sighed. "Whatever, 'niichan. We're outta here anyway." Takeshi nodded and headed to his sister. A paper bag was slung over her shoulder. Probably a change of clothes or something… thought Takeshi. Then he remembered something.

"Sakura! Are there any clothes in there for me?!"

Sakura gave him an amused grin. "Oh sure! Unless you don't mind wearing a miniskirt, a bra, and a pair of-"

Takeshi turned red. "You know what I mean Sakura!" 

His sister giggled. "I know, I know. Jeez, you get flustered so easily." She opened the paper bag and pulled out a plastic one. "Kaasan knew you'd want to change into a fresh pair, but that you'd forget your own so…she sent me with mine and yours."

Takeshi took a sigh of relief. "Thanks, Sakura."

"Don't mention it."

* * * * *

Takeshi and Sakura emerged from the school building, each out of their school uniforms. Takeshi wearing a midnight blue short-sleeved vest, which he wore unzipped. Under the vest was a white t-shirt. On the back ( although it was concealed ) was the kanji symbol for "Wolf". A pair of gray fleece sweatpants were on his legs, but he had his same white sneakers with the black stripes. A pair of  goggles hung from his neck. The frames were clear, and the goggle itself and strings were a bright blue.

Sakura, was now wearing a tight indigo tanktop, which showed her figure quite nicely. Her navy blue skirt was replaced with a crimson miniskirt. On her feet, were a pair of sandals. Sakura smiled and leapt in front of her brother.

"Alright, I'm going to go see if I can meet up with my friends in town? Okay?"

"Hai."

She squealed in delight. "And where will you be going?"

Remembering the message, he responded, "I'm going down to the old park…you know, the one we used to play at when we were younger."

"Nani?!"

"Yeah…weird, huh? Guess I'm just trying to relish my childhood."

His sister nodded understandingly. "Well…you go and do that. I'll see you at home. Syaonara!"

"Syaonara."

And the twins headed off into separate directions; one to spend time with her friends, the other driven by curiosity and his "destiny".

And that would be the last time they would be seeing each other for awhile.

* * * * *

Takeshi glanced at his watch. 16:29…well, I'm early.

Indeed, Takeshi had already arrived at the old park, a good half-hour ahead of time. Taking a seat at the bench like the message said, he flung his backpack down beside him, and then eyed the park. He smiled.

"Its just how I remember it."

Everything had remained the same in all those years since he had last visited: the swing sets, the old, rusty slide as well as the new one, the slippery monkey bars, and the sandbox. He didn't realize his eyes slowly closing in the peaceful surrounding, and soon drifted into peaceful slumber.

**Later**

Takeshi groaned and opened his groggy eyes. Yawning, he stretched his arms and then lowered them down to check the time. It was exactly 16:59. He gulped. Well…let's see what my destiny is.

No sooner had he thought this, the wind drastically picked up and formed a vortex around him.

"Wha-What the hell is going on?!" he shouted.

The vortex spun faster and faster, but strangely, it was not Takeshi spinning. It was the wind cycling around his body. Soon, he was lifted up into the air and the cycling grew faster. The device from earlier somehow opened his backpack, and floated right into his right hand. Before Takeshi could make out a 'what the h-' a new message displayed itself on the screen.

"Welcome to the Digital World."

And in the blink of an eye, Takeshi had vanished into thin air.

End Episode 01.

Wow…that turned out with a better ending than I thought it would! And now, to my reviewers: 

**Wand3ringspiri**t: No, the enemy is NOT like Kaiser. He doesn't want to take over the Digital World. This guy has much…"bigger" plans in mind. !!! No more spoilers!

**Ookami MX**: Heh, thanks.

**Ivgie Sole**: Aw, thanks. 

**Aerol Somtaww**: O_O Woah! You reviewed my fic! ::beams:: I'm glad you like how it started. And your on my favorite authors list! I just love your fic "Frontier Destiny" Update! Soonish!

Well, till next time.


	3. 02 Brave New World

I'm glad so many people like this fic!

Takeshi: Are you sure their not jus saying they like it?

Huh? Of course they like it…

Takeshi: You can keep telling yourself that.

…moving on…to Aerol, yes, I've decided to drop the Romajii. I was just trying to set a feel that they were in Japan ( Please note that Japanese terms will be used more frequently when the Japanese characters are in Japan…and likewise for all those from other countries. )

And now, the disclaimer.

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon. Toei does. So…yeah.

Digimon Crusaders Episode 02 ~ Brave New World

"…" ~ Speaking,

_Italicized_ ~ Thinking

***** ~ Change of scenes

~~~~~ ~ Change of realities

Takeshi was…confused to say the least. For one thing, it felt like his body was being pulled in every imaginable direction at once, while being withdrawn into himself at the same time. His body felt like electricity was coursing through his veins, but yet he felt no pain at all. 

_Damn it, this is what I get for reading a stupid email. _He groaned mentally.

Soon Takeshi started to feel light-headed and sleepy, and he was just about to fall asleep when…

THUMP!

~~~~~

( The Digital World )

Takeshi felt like he'd been hit by a freight train. No, _five_ freight trains. Slowly, he became aware of his surroundings. He wasn't in the air anymore that was certain. Now, he was lying stomach first on the ground, with his arms and legs sprawled out all over the place. He groaned. 

This is definitely NOT the way to spend your afternoon… 

He sighed to himself, turned himself over, sat himself up…

…and finally absorbed the change of his surroundings.

Gone was the playground, replaced by a, out of all things, beach. Indeed, Takeshi had been lying on a beach. The sky was a blue that Takeshi could never have dreamed to see, and the sand was free of liter. A warm, tropical breeze picked up, blowing through his golden brown hair. Turning his head to the left, he saw the ocean – a rich, and majestic turquoise.

_…this is…paradise…_Takeshi thought, finally taking in every little detail. But as the feeling of awe sunk in so did the thought of

"WHERE THE HELL AM I?!" shouted Takeshi.

Standing up, Takeshi turned around, hoping to see his backpack. But it was gone, except for the device he had found earlier, but that had changed as well. The gold "keyboard" was gone, and the buttons were now a gray color. The only gold left on the device was the "dial". The bottom edges were now rounded, and the top edges had been smoothed out. The fairly large screen from before had shrunk a considerable size, and was now like an LCD screen – but it retained the background that it had had before.

_What the…_thought Takeshi, _How could it have changed like that?_

Sighing, he reached down into the sand and picked up the aqua-blue device. _I'd better hold on to this…whatever it is. Its my only lead outta here…wherever I am._

With a mind filled with doubt, but a heart filled with wonder, Takeshi dashed off to find mainland.

* * * * *

Takeshi must have wandered around the beach for at least an hour - and not a sign of civilization anywhere. And all the while, Takeshi kept telling himself that this was just some sort of dream; that he was going to wake up at any minute now and everything would be just fine.

But he _knew_ he wasn't dreaming. That was the hard thing to accept.

"Damn it…" he cursed outloud. "Some day this is turning out to be. If I had known that this was going to happen, I probably never even wouldn't have selected an answer to that machine."

"That makes two of us."

"Huh?"

Takeshi turned around to find himself staring at a girl, probably around his age, possibly an inch or two shorter than he was (A/N: Have I mentioned that Takeshi is about 5'10"? So…yeah.) She was wearing a light purple sweater with black stripes, tan capris, and an electric pink sleeveless vest.   Slung across her shoulder was a white leather purse. She had straightened caramel hair that fell past her shoulders, and brown eyes.

"Who are you?" asked the girl.

"Uh…I'm Shinku, Takeshi."

The girl squealed. "Oh, thank Kami-sama! ( A/N: See? I told you I would put the occasional Romajii now and then. ) And here I was beginning to worry I wouldn't find anyone who would understand Japanese!"

"So…uh, what's your name?"

The girl blinked and then started giggling. "Whoops! My name is Sakurai, Aya."

Takeshi bowed. "Pleased to meet you, Miss Aya.

"Ooh. You're a little bit of a _gentleman_ now, are we?

Takeshi couldn't help but chuckle. It was good to have someone to talk to, and that he knew he wasn't the only one who was dragged into this whole mess. "Hey, Aya? Do you have some sort of device that came with an email, or something?"

Aya nodded. "Yeah. It was really freaky too. I don't ever remember buying something like this." She reached into her purse and pulled out a device similar to Takeshi's, only it was a pink where it was aqua-blue on Takeshi's.

"Same here."

"…its freaky isn't it? I mean…we find this device and then it talks about our 'destiny'…And now were somewhere in the middle of nowhere." Aya shuddered in fear.

Takeshi headed over to where Aya was standing. "I know. This is really weird…I just wanna go home." Aya nodded in response. "Hey, let's go find a way off this beach."

Aya smiled. "Lucky you. I came here from a path that's just over there. I landed in some rainforest or something."

Takeshi smiled. "Alright. Lead the way."

* * * * *

"Are you _positive_ you know where you're going?" asked an annoyed Takeshi. He and Aya had found the path out of the beach sometime ago, and it did lead to a rainforest. But that wasn't the problem anymore. 

"Well…I guess…"

Takeshi groaned.

"Hey! I just got here too, you know? Cut me some slack…jeez." She replied hotly, "ugh! I hate this!" In a spurt of anger, she swung her right fist into a neighboring tree. "I hate this…." She sobbed. Sure enough, tears of fear were streaming down her tan face. 

Takeshi sighed mentally. As much as he wanted to help, there wasn't much he could really do to help an emotional teenage girl – he had had enough problems trying to console Sakura. Still, he couldn't help but feel bad over his current situation. Anyone would have felt the same…

…right?

He reached into his pocket and pulled out the device. _Damn this thing! I can't believe I fell for that "destiny" crap! Ugh…some help its turning out to be._

And as if proving it _could_ help out a new message appeared on the screen.

**Take the path west.**

"What the-??? How am I supposed to trust you?!" he shouted at the device, half-expecting it to answer.

And it did, to his surprise.

**Because your life depends on it.  You and Aya, obviously, have no idea how to survive here, or where you are.**

Well…whoever keeps sending me these messages…sure knows how to get right to the point… 

"Alright, alright. We'll do it."

**I knew you'd say that.**

"…right. Um…what is this thing called anyway?"

**The D-Gear.**

"D-Gear, huh? Well…thanks for the info." Takeshi stuffed the D-Gear back into his pocket, and then walked over to Aya, whose sobbing had stopped a while ago.

"Hey, Aya."

"…?"

"I got another message on that device."

"Oh, great!" she said sarcastically, "What does it say this time?! To go throw ourselves over a cliff, because its _destiny_?!"

"…um…no…it says to take the path west."

"But…by the looks of it…that path seems to go back towards a different area of the beach…"

"Let's risk it then."

Aya smirked. "Ah, a gentleman, yet with a dangerous streak, ne?"

Takeshi smirked as well. "You could say that."

Aya sighed. "Alright, alright. Let's take the west path. What more harm could it do?"

Takeshi nodded in agreement. Extending his hand, Aya grabbed it and Takeshi hoisted her up. Nodding her thanks, Aya started off towards the west path with Takeshi close behind. Silence followed.

"Um…Aya?" asked Takeshi.

"Hm?"

"I'm just wondering but…what were you doing when you got the message?"

Aya stopped in her tracks, and looked pensive. "Well…if I remember correctly, I had just come out of the hair salon after getting my hair straightened," she said, flipping her hair to further prove the point, "When I hear this beeping noise coming from my purse. Of course, I didn't bring my cell phone with me to the salon. So I opened my purse anyway…and I found this pink palmpilot with a message on it that was talking about my destiny. Then, I went to the place it told me to go , and I blacked out. Next thing I know, I'm in the middle of some rainforest, and the palmpilot has changed in form." She started walking again. "But, tell me Takeshi: how did you get here?"

"Well…I was stuck with cleaning duty at school, and my twin sister went to refill the water bucket. After that, I started daydreaming until I heard that beeping sound, and it was coming from my backpack. I opened it up, found a blue palmpilot, did what the message said, and here I am."

Aya sighed. "Whoever thought this up has a sick sense of humor."

Takeshi chuckled. "I guess."

It wasn't long until the two found themselves at a beach, like before, with some differences. There seemed to be a circular marble structure in front of them, with a rainbow light streaming from it. Along the circle, were nine strange symbols that revolved around the structure.

"Amazing, isn't it?" came a new voice.

Takeshi and Aya turned their heads to see a boy, also around the age of 15, and he was slightly taller than Takeshi. He had jet black hair, combed down the front, and a pair of ice blue eyes that screamed how calm he was. He wore a thin, red long-sleeved jacket, and baggy dark green sweat pants. He paused, and turned his head towards Takeshi and Aya.

"It is truly amazing."

Takeshi was the first to speak. "So…you got sent here too, huh?"

The boy nodded and pulled out a red version of the D-Gear. "Yeah, I've got one too. And we're not the only one who got pulled here too, I see."

"Oh!" said Aya, "Then there are more of you?"

The boy nodded. "Mmhmm," he motioned for them to come over to the other side of the structure, "By the way, the name's Kenichi. Hino, Kenichi."

Aya smiled. "I'm Aya Sakurai, and this is Takeshi Shinku."

Kenichi nodded his hello. "Well, I found two other people besides you two already. Look over there." He pointed.

Takeshi and Aya turned their heads to the direction that Kenichi was pointing. There were two other children, a boy and a girl. The girl appeared to be around 13, and stood about three inches shorter than Aya. She had long blonde hair tied into two braids at the back of her head, and warm sapphire eyes. She was wearing a red miniskirt, a black leather belt, and a seafoam green blouse. A forest green D-Gear was buckled onto her belt.

The boy appeared to be around 16, and looked very menacing. His eyes were hidden behind a pair of gray-tinted sunglasses, and his hair was dyed peroxide blonde, with the sideburns and back of the neck brown. He wore a sleeveless gray T-shirt, and blue jeans.

The menacing boy turned to look at Kenichi, "Hey, Kenichi! Who are those guys!"

Kenichi forced a smile. It was obvious that he didn't like the other boy. "Well, if you want to know, Saito, why don't you ask them?"

Saito scoffed. "Like I'd actually _care_ anyway."

"Saito!" came the young girl. Unlike the others, however, her voice hinted an American accent. "That isn't a very nice think to say anyway!"

Saito turned to the young girl, eyes glaring from under his tinted shades. "Shut up, Megan."

Megan stuck her tongue out. "Make me!"

"Maybe I will!"

"Okay, okay! That's enough!" shouted Aya.

Saito turned his head to Aya this time. "Hey, you're hot and all, but could you please _but out!_"

Aya gasped and jogged over to Saito. "Don't you talk like that to me!"

Saito scoffed. "Heh, whatever."

Kenichi sighed. "Its been like this since I found those two…"

Takeshi chuckled. "A colorful bunch of us then, huh?"

Kenichi chuckled as well. "Yeah, I guess you could say that."

"That is quite enough, children." Came a woman's voice.

The five children turned to the altar and saw the image of a beautiful woman, possibly in her early twenties, stand above it. She had flowing blonde hair, beautiful green eyes, and wore a white robe.

"The Crusaders should not fight amongst themselves." She said.

"Crusaders?" said Saito.

The woman nodded. "Yes, the Crusaders."

Megan scratched her head. "But the only Crusaders I know of are the ones back in the twelfth century…"

"Thanks for the history lesson, genius."

"Shut up Saito!"

"Ahem…" coughed Takeshi.

The woman nodded her thanks. "Thank you, Takeshi. Now as I was saying, I have called you to my world for a reason."

"Wait a minute," said Kenichi, "did you just say _your_ world?!"

"Yes. I did. You are no longer on Earth, but instead the Digital World."

"Digital World?!" said the children.

The woman sighed. "Please stop asking your questions and let me finish."

The children reluctantly nodded, not really knowing what else to do.

"Thank you," said the woman. "Anyways, you have been called into our world for a reason: You alone are the humans who contain the virtues to an exactness that's so scary of our world's saviors, the Crusaders. Each Crusader represents a different Element, and a different Virtue. But, that's not the point. The point is that a revolt within our government has caused our world to become unstable, and "Wild Type" Digimon roam more free than ever. We need you to find the Temples that are buried over the death site of each Crusader, and obtain their 'souls', if you will, and reach a level of power you never could have dreamed of." 

Takeshi gaped at the woman. "…and we're supposed to be the ones who have to go to these temples?"

The woman nodded.

"Hold on a second!" shouted Saito, "why do we have to do this! Why not someone else?!"

"Would you rather this fate be burdened on someone else, so you could be free of it?" asked the woman.

"Well…yes! I would!"

"Saito!" yelled Megan, "that's so selfish!"

Kenichi nodded. "She's right Saito. If there's someone who has to do this, it might as well be us."

Saito stared aghast at Kenichi. "What are you saying?! You'd want to risk your life for some stupid world!?

Kenichi thought for a moment. "Well…"

Saito smirked. "I thought so."

Kenichi glared at him. "But that still doesn't excuse us from the fact that we're the only ones who can do it!"

Aya nodded. "I agree with Kenichi."

Megan smiled. "Me too!"

Takeshi opened his mouth to speak, but then closed it abruptly.

Saito turned to him. "Well? What were you going to say?"

Takeshi sighed. "I agree…with them, Saito. Okay, maybe we don't like what we have to do…but we should just accept it, yanno? Better than having someone else do it."

Saito groaned. "Grah! There's no way I'm doing this!"

The woman smiled. "If you can at least head north to the capital of this continent, perhaps you can go home then? See if you want to stay or not?"

Saito's expression turned pensive, and then he sighed. "Fine. Whatever."

The woman smiled again. "Very well then, Crusaders. You're paths have been choson."

Five orbs of light flew from five of the nine symbols and flew towards where each of their D-Gears were kept.

"Those orbs contain the locations of each Temple. As you near them a map feature will show you where it is. Good luck." And with that, she vanished.

Takeshi sighed. _I knew it was going to be one of those days…_

End of Episode 02.

* * * * *

Alriiiiiiiight. We're done with the second episode. Okay, please remember to review on your way out and…if at all possible, let me know who your favorite character is so far? Bye!


	4. 03 The Darkside Corporation

Welcome back, ya'll. This is Episode 03 of the Crusaders.

On a side note: Aerol, yes, I am very aware of how its like yours. Bear in mind, I need characters like Saito for some friction among the group, I'm sure you can understand. Anyways, I'm **hoping** that this, in your honest opinion, steers away from the thought that this is like your fic. Yes, I know they're similar, but I HATED writing that last chapter. I'm sorry if it was like yours. I didn't mean it to be like that… Anyways, on with the next episode.

The Crusaders Episode 03 – The Darkside Corporation's First Strike!

"…" Dialogue, character's speech.

_Italicized_  Thoughts

* * * * * Change of scenes

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Change of realities

A campfire blazes in the midst of the night, with five human children gathered around it. But, there are no normal human children. They are the Crusaders, the heirs to the power of the Digital World's saviors. I am Gabriella, the guardian of this world. I have chosen each child for their individual strengths, for they give off more of that trait then most humans do.

_Takeshi. A kind, and gentle boy. Loyal to the end._

_Aya. Perky and cheerful. A spirited girl._

_Saito. Cocky and stubborn. A brave soul._

_Kenichi. Calm and withdrawn. A voice of reason._

_Megan. Wise beyond her years. A fountain of intellect._

_But there is one problem._

_They don't want to work together._

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"I'm telling you! We should just go back to that lady and say we've changed our minds!" shouted Saito.

The group was now in the forest, and they had built a campfire to keep themselves warm. Things had been quiet for awhile, until Saito decided to revive the topic of how he didn't want to participate in this whole mess.

"Saito," said Kenichi, "just accept the fact that we're the only ones who can do this."

Saito scoffed. "Yeah. Easy for _you_ to say. You're the one who went head over heels into this mess! I don't even _want_ to be here!"

"…you know…I agree with Saito…" mumbled Aya.

Kenichi looked appalled. "Not you too! I can't believe your agreeing with him!"

Aya frowned. "Well, _sorry _for not wanting to risk my life!"

Saito nodded. "See? She's thinking about this through! We could all _die_ here, Kenichi! Do you really want to die here? Do _any_ of you?!"

"I don't." Said Takeshi.

"Me neither." Said Megan.

"…I _would._" Said Kenichi.

All heads turned to him, surprised expressions etched across their faces.

"What the hell?" said Saito.

"Are you outta your mind?!" asked Takeshi.

Kenichi sighed. "Forget it. Look, I'm going to sleep." Kenichi rose from his seat on the ground and walked over into the part of the clearing they were in where he was going to sleep that night.

"G'night, Kenichi." Said Megan.

Takeshi sighed. "This is some mess we've gotten ourselves into."

"No kidding!" said Aya.

"Hey, Saito!"

"Hm?"

"I agree with you, we should go back to the altar. But, its too dark now…how about in the morning?"

"Sounds good to me. Ladies?"

Aya nodded. "Sure! I'd give _anything_ to get outta here!"

Megan sighed. "I guess so. But…what about Kenichi?"

Takeshi sighed. "He's already decided he wants to stay. We can't change his mind."

Aya, Megan, and Saito nodded in response. 

Aya rose from her seat. "Look, I'm going to sleep too," she paused, "and if you guys decide to perv on me, you'll be dead!"

Saito chuckled. "Ah, but then you'll spoil my fun."

SLAP!

"OW! What was that for?!"

"For being a baka hentai, you idiot!"

Takeshi and Megan burst out into laughter, as Aya proudly smirked and made her way over to find a suitable sleeping spot. Saito just sat on the ground, massaging his red cheek.

* * * * * ( The next morning )

Takeshi awoke to the sounds of screaming, and the smell of smoke filled his nostrils. 

_Oh, shit! Looks like we won't be going to the altar this morning!_

"Bout time you got up!" shouted Saito, "this whole forest's on fire!"

"What?!"

Aya appeared from behind Saito. "You'd better believe it, now we've gotta split!"

"But what about Keni-"

Megan stepped up this time. "We can't find him anywhere. He must have left in the middle of the night."

"Then that means that…"

"He could be in trouble? Most likely. But hey, he _did_ say he would risk his life for this world."

"…"

Saito groaned. "Don't play the hero, boy! We've gotta get outta here, and fast!"

"Right!" Takeshi jumped up from the ground  and nodded, signaling his "friends" to follow him. 

"Alright, Mr. _Leader_. Where to?"

Aya pushed him into the dirt, and Saito's sunglasses shattered. "Shut up, Saito."

"Hey! I paid 1000 yen for those!"

"Shut up, and deal with it."

Takeshi chuckled for a split second, before going back into "leader mode".

"Um…let's just find a path that leads out of the forest."

Aya groaned. "But that will lead us back to the beach!"

"Better than dying!" shouted Saito.

"Um…guys?" said Megan.

"Well, do _you_ have any better ideas, Aya?" asked Takeshi.

"…well…I…"

"We're waiting, _miss._" said Saito.

"Um…_guys_?" said Megan.

"WHAT?!" shouted the three of them.

"…is it just me or is there a man covered in fire standing right over there…?"

Confused, the three turned into the direction Megan was pointing. A man that stood around 7 feet tall, blue eyes with white pupils, a mouth tied together with stitches, and a body covered in flames stood before him. His lips curled into a smile.

"Ha! At last, I have found them! The Master will be pleased with me!"

"_The Master?!"_ asked Takeshi.

"Yes, the Master! He has sent me on a mission to destroy this forest, and to capture the Crusaders!"

"Wait…how does your Master _know_ about us?!" asked Megan, fear mingling in her voice.

The flaming man smirked. "Wouldn't you like to know? Now die. FIREBALL!"

The flaming man outstretched his right hand a ball of hot flame was summoned into it. His lips curved into an insane smile. He threw the flaming sphere like a baseball, aiming it towards the kids.

_Is this it? This is how I'm going to die? _Thought Takeshi.

_I'm gonna die…I'm gonna die….I'm gonna die!_ Thought Aya.

_Shiiiiiiiiiiiiit!_ Thought Saito.

_I can't believe I'm going to die like this…_ thought Megan.

And when all hope seemed lost…

"MAGICAL GAME!"

A stream of magic appeared from the trees, and collided with the flaming man's attack. A brilliant explosion appeared before the children, who were still in shock over what had just happened.

"Grah! Curse you!" shouted the flaming man.

"Leave the children alone, Meramon!" came a voice from the trees, "they have done nothing to you!"

"That's where your wrong! My Master wants these children!"

"MAGICAL GAME!"

The stream of magic appeared from the trees once more, this time colliding with the flaming man, Meramon. Meramon screamed in pain as the energy filled through his entire body. It wasn't long until his body turned into blue pixels, shifted around, and then floated into the air.

Takeshi was the first to recover from the shock. "What-just-happened…"

Megan gulped. "I was hoping you could tell me…"

"Do not fear me, Crusaders." Came the voice from the trees, "I mean you no harm whatsoever."

A figure descended from the trees above. It stood at about 5 feet tall, and it had a purple witch's hat, a tattered purple cloak, a golden staff, and tattered tan clothes. His mouth was covered by the collar of his cloak, and his skin was a grayish color. 

"I am Wizardmon."

"Wi-Wizardmon…?" asked Megan.

Wizardmon nodded. "Yes. The being you just was a Meramon, and is a servant of the Darkside Corporation."

"Okay, slow down a second," said Saito, folding his arms. "What _are_ you anyway?!"

Wizardmon seemed to smile from underneath his collar. "Then I see Gabriella never told you about the Digital World's inhabitants. Very well, I'll tell you. I am a Digimon, short for Digital Monster, but just call us Digimon. That Digimon that I just beat, Meramon, is another Digimon as well."

Aya had a pensive look on her face. "So…you 'Digimon' come in a variety of species, ne?"

Wizardmon nodded. "You learn fast, child."

"So…what happened to him? Meramon, I mean." Asked Takeshi.

"I deleted him."

"You _what_?" 

"Deleted him. I believe you humans may know the term as 'death'"

"So…you killed him?" asked Saito.

Wizardmon nodded. "It is something that a Temple Guardian such as myself does not enjoy doing it, but it must be done sometimes. Your lives are far too important to lose."

Megan's eyes widened. "Wait a minute! Did you just say you were a Temple Guardian? As in, the Temples of the Crusaders we were told about?!"

Wizardmon chuckled. "Yes, I am. I am Wizardmon, Guardian of the Temple of Light. I am quite positive that one of you is the chosen Crusader of that element."

"…well…one of our own is missing…" began Aya.

Wizardmon shook his head. "No, it isn't him. I had encountered him as the sun rose this morning, and he asked me where the closest Temple was. I told him yes, but he wasn't giving off the Light energies. So, I sent him on a boat to the next temple, an island away from here."

"Speaking of where you sent him, where are _we?_" asked Saito.

"The Island of RAM. To the north, are the CPU Isles, and above that is the continent of Folder, where all the other Temples are located."

"You said something about a 'Darkside Corporation'. What are they?!" asked Megan.

Wizardmon sighed. "About a month ago, there was a revolt in our world's government. Those who wanted reform in the government, banded together to form the Darkside Corporation, at least, that's what it is called now. Awhile ago, they fought for their ideals, until this…_thing_ appeared and somehow convinced the Reformers to join his army. And thus began the Darkside Corporation."

"Ouch." Said Saito.

Wizardmon fought the urge to burst out into laughter. "But, enough of that. It is dire that I escort you to the Temple of Light, so that the Crusader of Light may begin the Trials."

"Trials?" asked Takeshi, "What are those?"

"Alas, I cannot tell you. Even _I_ do not know the answer. Apparently, it is a test to see if the Crusader is worthy enough to handle the power he or she receives when they achieve Soul Unison."

"…um…what's Soul Unison?" asked Aya.

Wizardmon _did_ burst out into laughter this time. "Did not Gabriella tell you? It is a special function of your D-Gears, only obtainable once you complete the Trials of the Temple. Basically, you will 'merge' with the essence of the past Crusader, and evolve into a level of power of unlike anything you've ever seen."

"Sounds sweet." Said Saito as a mischievous grin spread across his face.

Megan groaned loudly, while Takeshi and Aya smirked.

"Time is of the essence. We move now!"

End Episode 03.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

And that's it for today. Sorry its short, but I need you guys to come back _somehow._

Please remember to leave a review!

Gold Stars go out to the reviewer who guesses who the "Crusader of Light" is. ( which, in my opinion, is fairly obvious…but then again, I wrote the story ^^ )

Super Gold Stars go to whoever guesses what color Saito's eyes are. ( I know, I forgot to mention that…but the answer will be revealed next chapter! )

So…review!


	5. 04 Echoes of Light

Let's just get this next chapter started, shall we?

Disclaimer: Refer to all previous chapters.

The Crusaders Episode 04 – Echoes of Light

"…"  - Speaking

_Italicized_ – Thinking

* * * * * - Change of scenes

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ - Change of realities

The four children and Wizardmon were hastily making their escape from the forest. Behind them, the burning carnage that had been caused by Meramon. Takeshi felt the urge to turn around, and see what he might be leaving behind.

But, in a situation this dire, he knew he couldn't.

He sighed mentally, then turned his attention to the three people he had met just yesterday. He had never known these people, let alone _seen_ them before. And oddly enough, it was these people that Takeshi was placing his life in, and vice versa. Slowly, he turned his head to see the three other humans that he were running in front of him.

Aya Sakurai. She was definitely a spunky one, that was for sure. Takeshi felt oddly comforted around her, the same feeling he had when he was around Sakura…

Saito. Obnoxious and annoying to a fault. Saito wasn't really the kind of person you'd see risking his life for something you'd believe in.

And then there was Megan. Not much he really knew about her, she didn't really talk to him much. 

And then there was Wizardmon – the guardian of the Temple of Light: the place where one of them would be bestowed with the power of the Crusader of Light.

He hardly knew these people, and yet, he would do anything to protect them.

* * * * *

A lone figure glided through the morning sky, tattered devil-like wings opened in a sinister manner. Two bull horns protruded from the sides of his head, and his eyes were a blood red, with no sign of pupils. His arms were long, possibly reaching down to below his kneecaps, and the forearms were covered in bandages. The majority of his body was black, with an orange symbol across his chest, and the mouth area of his face was a sickly grey.

Devimon was ravishing the carnage that his troops had caused. An evil smirk curled across his lips. Meramon should have gotten rid of those Crusaders by now, not even one of them can Soul Unison yet! A beeping came from his belt.

"Augh, what is it now?" the devil-like creature asked himself. Using one of his long, bandaged arms, he detatched a device from his belt and spoke into it. "Devimon, here. What is it?!"

"Sir!" came a voice from the other line, "its been reported that Meramon has been deleted!"

Devimon scoffed. "Figures. He's just another mindless lackie. He's expendable."

"Yessir."

"That isn't all you wanted to tell me, isn't it?" asked Devimon.

The other Digimon gulped on the other line. "The Crusaders have found the Temple guardian, and are en route to reaching the temple."

"Dammit!" cursed Devimon, "if any one of them activates that Temple, we can kiss this operation good bye…however, only one of those children can be the corresponding Crusader…" a sneer curled upon his lips.

"What are you saying, sir?"

"You'll see…"

On the other line, the Digimon nodded. "Sir…_he_ wants to speak to you."

If Devimon had blood, it would have run cold as humans say. The one person he was afraid of - his boss, the leader of the Darkside Corporation. Devimon gulped. "Put him on…"

* * * * * 

It wasn't long until Wizardmon had led the children out of the forest, and convientelly leading them towards the Temple.  The children gasped in awe at the sight before them. The Temple of Light, as it was called, was a ziggurat-like structure made of the finest marble they had ever seen. Before the single staircase that ascended to the top were two torches, burning with a beautiful aqua-blue flame.

Wizardmon turned to face the children and bowed on one knee before them. "Welcome to the Temple of Light, Crusaders." 

"My God…I've never seen something so beautiful…" murmured Megan. Aya and Takeshi nodded their agreement, while Saito just folded his arms in an aggravated manner. 

"Alright Mr. Wizard, who's this 'Crusader of Light' or whatever?!"

Wizardmon eyed Saito. "You're D-Gear, please."

"Huh?"

"The device that you received earlier."

"Oh…" Saito reached into his pocket and pulled out a metallic gray D-Gear. "This what you're talking about?"

"Yes…but you are not the child I seek." 

Saito let out a sigh of relief. _Now I don't have to save their asses…_

Megan raised her hand. "Excuse me, Wizardmon. But how can you tell if one of us is the corresponding Crusader of this Temple?"

Wizardmon paused for a moment, then leaned onto his staff. Finally he spoke. "See the flames on those torches?" Megan nodded. "Well, the Crusader of this temple has a D-Gear that color."

"Ooh!" shouted Aya, "I know who it is!!!" She grabbed Takeshi by his vest collar and pulled him in front of her. "He is!"

"Jeez, Aya…you didn't have to strangle me like that…" muttered Takeshi. Takeshi reached into his pocket and pullet out his D-Gear. "She is right though, my D-Gear is the same color as the flame."

"Excellent!" said Wizardmon, "now, if you'll please make your way to those stairs…"

Takeshi nodded, and slowly walked over to the staircase before him. Anxiety plagued his mind, and Takeshi felt as if all his limbs and muscles were moving by an unseen force. 

_Why am I even doing this…_he thought, _I'm having second thoughts about ever answering that message…_

Snapping him out of his thoughts was the sound of crackling flame coming from the two torches. The D-Gear that was in his hand started glowing, and Takeshi's body was enveloped in a bubble. Before he could make out a _what the he-_ the bubble floated into the air and ascended up the staircase, dissolving once it reached the top.

"Well that was certainly an interesting way to move around…" Takeshi mused. He was now at the top of the ziggurat in a small room, possibly where someone could pray. It was rather plain than the rest of the temple, except for an odd symbol at the bottom of the floor made of marble. The symbol itself looked like a circle with an X inside of it, and a jagged line running from top to bottom of the X.

Again, Takeshi felt himself losing control over his limbs as he slowly walked on top of the symbol. No soon had he stepped on it, the engraving on the floor glowed with energy and a voice filled Takeshi's mind.

_Welcome, Crusader. _

The floor beneath his feet slowly lowered itself, revealing itself to be an elevator. Takeshi tried to jump away, but he was no longer in control of his own body, and he slowly watched as the elevator plunged deeper and deeper into the temple, and it wasn't long until he had gone so far down that there was no longer any light to see.

* * * * *

From a distance, Devimon smirked. The chosen Crusader had entered the Temple, and now the only one protecting the other three children was that Wizardmon. _What a fool…_thought Devimon, _surely he would have realized by now that if the Darkside Corporation was already here, then we would be attacking them by now._ The devil Digimon shrugged. "Oh well," he said to himself, "that's life." The cruel sneer curled across his lips again.

"I think its time for some fun…"

* * * * *

From beneath his high collar, Wizardmon smiled. "And thus begins the Trial."

Aya turned to the wizard Digimon. "Takeshi…_will_ be okay…right?"

Megan nodded. "Yeah…I'm wondering about that as well."

Wizardmon shrugged. "Now that the Trial has begun, he can either a.) succeed and obtain the power of Light, or b.) fail and suffer an eternity of eternal damnation."

"_Eternal damnation?!_" shouted Aya, "why didn't you tell us this before?!"

Wizardmon shrugged. "Such is the price of failure in the Temple."

"But…don't you think that's a little _cruel_? I mean…so what if he isn't the right Crusader? No need to punish him like that…"

"Wrong." Firmly stated Wizardmon, "it has every reason. We, or rather I, cannot entrust such power to the wrong person. It could be chaotic."

Aya stared at the Digimon with disbelief. How could someone like that be so cruel at something so…petty.

Megan, on the other hand, at lost interest in the conversation and brought her attention to Saito. Ever since they had met Wizardmon, Saito had refused to make eye contact with anyone, or even look at someone when talking to them. Even though it had occurred to Megan right from the start that Saito wasn't a 'people person' she couldn't help but…well, wonder.

"Hey Saito?" she asked. The boy in question grunted in response. "Why aren't you looking at us?"

A harsh, sad laugh escaped him. "Heh, why do you wanna know? So you and Aya can insult me more?"

"Wha…? No, Saito! That's just inhumane!"

"…you really want to know?" he quietly asked.

Megan nodded. Saito sighed, and slowly turned around to face Megan. And that's when she noticed it, why Saito was wearing the sunglasses earlier. Saito had two different eye colors – his left eye blue and his right eye green. Megan stared in awe. Saito, however, frowned deeply.

"I knew it. You're just gonna call me a freak or something…"

"No way, Saito!" she said loudly, going towards the point of shouting, "why would I do that? I mean…its not everyday you meet someone with two different color eyes!"

Saito blinked. "You…you mean you're…not going to make fun of me?"

Megan blinked this time. "What do you mean by that?" Saito smiled, and then shook his head in a dismissive manner. The two turned their heads to see Aya strangling the poor Wizardmon, and burst out into laughter. Their laugh allowed all of them to escape from the fear and turmoil that had been made accustomed into their lives in just a day. 

And this made it the perfect opportunity for Devimon's attack.

* * * * *

"Ugh…" said Takeshi. He slowly opened his eyes, but it didn't do him much good. He awoke to a world of pitch-black darkness, traces of even the faintest light were gone. Slowly, he was able to stand himself up. 

_Great. Just my luck. _He thought. 

Suddenly, three shafts of light appeared before him. "What the…" Then, the shafts of light were soon filled with images.

_This is your Trial, Crusader. The power you seek lies in one of these shafts. As you can see, each shaft contains a memory of your life. You may choose one, and only one shaft to enter. If it is correct, then the power will be yours. Fail…_ the voice trailed off, disappearing as fast as it had come.

"Great," he sighed to himself, "I screw up: I die. I get the power, I _could_ die. Whatever…let's see what these memories are."

He walked to the shaft on the right side and saw an image of him and Sakura as five-year olds. They were playing on the old playground – they very same one that had gotten him into this mess. He stared at his younger face and fought the urge to scowl at himself. How could his memories be so happy when he, the Takeshi in the Digital World, was not happy.

He turned his head to the center shaft. This time, he saw an image of himself playing soccer on his school's team. Takeshi watched enviously as he saw himself bounce the ball on his right knee, a wide grin on his face. Takeshi felt his hand clench in anger. How badly he wanted to be in the same situation as the "Takeshi" of his memories.

Finally, he took a few steps over and looked into the left shaft. It was another memory of both him and Sakura, except they were at their normal ages this time. Takeshi grinned at the scene, it was a recent memory. They were at home, and Sakura was yelling at him for not "taking pride in his appearance". She even had some hair gel and a hairbrush in her hands, to enforce what she wanted on her younger sibling. 

_And there you have it, Crusader. Which one will you choose? _Came the voice.

"Please…answer me this. If I choose the wrong one…what will happen to me?"

The voice paused for a long time, as if considering whether or not to answer his question. _You will be sent back into that memory, which will in turn send you back into your world. You will have no memory of this world._

Takeshi resisted the urge to smile. He _could_ screw up purposely…

…but what would happen to the others?

_Well? Which one will you pick?_

"I…don't know…"

_There _is _no hurry. Please, consider the choices as much as you need to. _

Takeshi nodded. How could a decision so simple…decide his fate, and that of everyone else?

He gulped inwardly. _Its now or never…_

Suddenly, a fourth shaft of light descended down, and it landed right in front of him. Curious, he peered into the shaft to see what was inside…

A tall, lanky devil-like creature was in front of the temple, choking the Temple Guardian Wizardmon. The said Digimon's eyes were clasped in pain, and misery was etched onto his features. The devil-like creature laughed and squeezed harder on Wizardmon's throat, and the Wizard Digimon opened his eyes in pain. Then, the devil-like creature released the poor Digimon, and turned his attention to the three children. Each wore a face filled with fear, and their eyes screamed with sorrow, misery, and anguish. The devil-like creature laughed, outstretched his right arm, and a blackish-purple energy began forming in it…

_No!_ thought Takeshi, _I have to do something!_

Without even realizing it, Takeshi had step forward into the newly formed shaft of light. 

The light inside was so bright, it was almost blinding him. Gone was all the darkness that had been in place before, as well as the shafts of light ( but Takeshi doubted he could've seen them anyway in the intense light). A light-blue orb appeared before him, and rearranged itself into an odd looking thing.

What floated before Takeshi was, what appeared to be, a miniature statue. It rested on a circular gray pedestal, with gold trimming around the edges. An armless crouched figure made of white and aqua colored armor stood on the pedestal, with a large, silver circle held in the figure's left hand. To top it off, a blue cape had been added to the back of the figure.

The voice called out one last time to Takeshi. 

_This is your destiny._

The forgotten D-Gear that had been in his hand glowed, and burned with energy. Subconsciously, Takeshi raised his right hand, and the statue responded by floating into the device. In an instant, he felt his body surge with power and the light didn't seem so bright anymore.

He _was_ that light. 

He smiled, and as on instinct, shouted out two words:

"Soul…UNISON!"

* * * * *

Devimon laughed manically, the dark energy in his hand fully charged. "Its time to die! Touch of EVIL!" The blackish-purple beam flew from his outstretched hand and rushed towards the children.

The two girls screamed and shut their eyes in fear. Saito cringed and waited for the worst. 

But it never came.

Saito, slowly, opened his eyes and saw a warrior in front of them. It stood at about 7 feet tall, a sword in his right hand, and a shield in his left. It was clad in snow white armor, with patches of aqua on the sides of the thighs and forearms, and two patches directly below the rib cage on either side. The shoulder pads were entirely aqua colored. Its feet were dinosaur-like, three toed and all. A sword scabbard was attached to the left side of his waist. The shield was a silver color, with a gold ring circling around the edges. The symbol of Light ( A/N: Remember the symbol at the top of the Temple before? That's the symbol of Light. ) was dead-center in the shield. The helmet was elongated, with what seemed like a Tyranosaurus head design on the top. The eye area was black, but two brown eyes were visible inside. The mouth was covered by silver plate, which covered the whole lower face as well. The dinosaur-knight turned to Saito.

"Are you okay?" it asked.

_That voice…_thought Saito. "Takeshi! Its you!" he exclaimed.

By now, Aya and Megan had opened their eyes as well and had seen the dinosaur-knight, who was actually Takeshi. 

"So…that means that…Takeshi has…" said Aya.

"Obtained the power of Light!!!" exclaimed Megan. 

"Heh. I'll be damned." Said Saito. 

Takeshi nodded, and turned his head towards Devimon. "Now, you have someone you can fight evenly!"

Devimon scowled. This was definitely _not_ what was on his original agenda for this situation. The Crusader shouldn't come, he kept telling himself. 

Devimon huffed, ( as if trying to dismiss the fact to himself that it was _just_ a regular, ordinary Digimon instead of one of the legendary Crusaders ). "So, you think you scare me now, huh boy?"

Takeshi nodded. "It was the general idea."

Devimon growled. _And now he mocks me…_ "I won't lose to the likes of you!"

Takeshi nodded in an understanding manner. "I understand that. Now, fight me Devimon! Fight me, Apollomon!"

Devimon extended his right arm towards Apollomon, aiming for the throat. Apollomon countered easily by jumping into the air. He swung his sword in a horizontal motion. "Beta Sword!" 

A wave of light flew from the sword, approaching Devimon at an alarming rate. The devil Digimon quickly countered by using his Touch of Evil attack to fire a blast of negative energy at the wave of positive energy. The two techniques collided, causing an explosion of light to fill the vision of all those nearby. 

Devimon had flown up into the air to avoid this technique and watched the smoking ruins below him. He knew that Apollomon would most likely have survived, but the three other children and the weakened Wizardmon were another story…

To his disgust, Devimon saw Apollomon running out of the smokescreen with Megan tucked underneath his left arm, and had Saito and Aya held close to his chest with his right arm, now free of the sword, which had been returned into the scabbard at his left side. Apollomon quickly set them down, and turned his head towards the smoke, watching bits of data fly into the air. 

"Wizardmon…" he murmured. He shook his head and turned his attention to Aya and the others. "Stay here!" he ordered. Without another word, he drew his sword once more and pointed it at Devimon in a challenging manner. 

The devil Digimon acknowledged by taking a sky dive into Apollomon, who quickly countered by taking an upward slash with his sword, slicing off Devimon's right wing.

"AAAAAAH!" screamed the now one-armed Devimon. 

* * * * *

"Amazing…" murmured Megan, "It almost seems impossible of how much power Takeshi has now…"

Saito smirked. "Almost makes me wish I could do that."

Megan looked at Saito with the corner of her eye. "Saito, we _both_ know you wouldn't risk your ass for something like this."

"Shut up, kid."

Aya watched with awe at Apollomon's grace with his weapon. Everything seemed to flow, as if Takeshi had always known how to swing a sword. _Please be careful, Takeshi…_

* * * * *

Devimon's howl of pain could be heard for miles, but then again, wouldn't anyone scream like hell when their wing was cut off as well? 

"K…Kuso wa!" (A/N: I THINK that means "Damn you!" in Japanese…someone correct me if I'm wrong. )

Apollomon smirked beneath the face plate covering his lower mouth. "See? You know you couldn't challenge a Crusader."

"Shut up!" shouted Devimon. 

Apollomon shut his eyes and bowed his head. "Very well…" He suddenly snapped them open, them made an X out of white energy with his sword, and then thrust his sword into the center. 

"Crossblade FURY!" 

The X then folded onto the blade and spun around – a drill-like motion. Using all of his might, Apollomon jumped into the air, the spinning blade aimed at Devimon. Frightened, the devil Digimon tried to get away, but fell down towards the earth. Now that he only had one wing, he couldn't fly anymore. With eyes filled with fear, he looked up into the sky as Apollomon flung his weight downward, the blade still pointed at Devimon. 

"HYYYYYYYAAAAH!" screamed Apollomon as the blade pierced through Devimon's stomach. The Digimon bore an expression of pain as it made contact, and white electricity surged through his body. Apollomon withdrew the blade from Devimon's stomach, and sheathed it. The Dinosaur-Knight Digimon watched as Devimon's body pixilated, then dissolved into data. 

Apollomon let out a relieved sigh and his body slouched over. "Damn, that was a rush…" he said to himself. He found his body pixelating as well, and he reverted back to Takeshi, D-Gear in hand. He fell face-first into the dirt.

"TAKESHI!" shouted Aya and Megan, as Saito just dropped his arms from their folded motion and all three ran over to his side.

"Is he alright?!" asked Megan.

Aya checked him for a pulse, then nodded. "He's just sleeping…I guess that took a lot out of him."

Megan nodded her response. 

"Hey! You guys aren't going to believe this!" said Saito.

"Huh?" said the two girls. 

Saito picked up Takeshi's D-Gear, and pointed to where the gold "dial" used to be. The symbol of Light was now engraved on it. "See?"

"Wow…" murmured Megan, "I guess that happened when he received the power of Light."

Saito nodded. 

Aya felt her stomach knot in fear. "Um…guys? Wizardmon is gone now…so, where do we go from here?"

The other two looked at each other, blank expressions across their faces. They didn't know what to do either. 

Aya stood up from next to Takeshi. "Saito, sling him over your shoulder."

"Huh? Why me?!"

"Because you're the strongest out of us all! We can't just leave him here can we, now?"

"Well…yeah but…"

"He saved your _ass_, Saito!" said Megan, "Don't you think you need to owe him something?"

Saito groaned. "Fiiiine. I'll do it, I'll do it…"

Saito muttered inaudibly as he carefully slung Takeshi over his shoulder, as not to wake him. He nodded to the two girls, and the three of them set off….

…wherever that was.

* * * * *

Not too far from where the battle had just taken place, a boy with sleek black hair and dressed in baggy dark green sweat pants and thin red jacket smiled. "So. That's the power of each temple."

Kenichi chuckled to himself, and set off as well. The forest fires had been long since put out, and he had told the surviving Digimon to rendez-vous with the exhausted Crusaders very soon. He would have liked to join them, but he had other plans. Kenichi made his way through the burnt forest towards the beach on the other side of the island, a Submarimon waiting for him.

Why?

Because he was on his way to the next Temple.

The Temple of Fire.

End Episode 04.


End file.
